Chapter 23
Gauss’ Law
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Coulomb’s Law
+
+ ++ + +
++ +++++
+ +
+ ++
++ +
+
Gauss’ Law
Carl Friedrich Gauss
If charge distribution is symmetric
23-1 Electric Flux
Electric field vectors and field Now the enclosed particle Can you tell what the
lines pierce an imaginary, has charge +2Q. enclosed charge is now?
spherical Gaussian surface Answer: -0.5Q
that encloses a particle with
charge +Q.
23-1 Electric Flux
The area vector dA for an area element (patch element) on a surface
is a vector that is perpendicular to the element and has a magnitude
equal to the area dA of the element.
The electric flux dΦ through a patch element with area vector dA is
given by a dot product:
Electric Flux
(a) An electric field vector pierces a small
square patch on a flat surface.
(b) Only the x component actually pierces the
patch; the y component skims across it.
(c) The area vector of the patch is
perpendicular to the patch, with a
magnitude equal to the patch’s area.
23-1 Electric Flux
The total flux through a surface is given by
The net flux through a closed surface (used in
Gauss’ law) is given by
where the integration is carried out over the
entire (closed) surface.
A points
outward!
23-1 Electric Flux
Flux through a closed cylinder, uniform field
23-2 Gauss’ Law
Gauss’ law relates the net flux Φ of an
electric field through a closed surface (a
Gaussian surface) to the net charge qenc that +q
is enclosed by that surface.
We can also write Gauss’ law as
-q
Two charges, equal in magnitude but opposite in sign, and the field lines that represent
their net electric field. Four Gaussian surfaces are shown in cross section.
23-2 Gauss’ Law
Surface S1.The electric field is outward for
all points on this surface. Thus, the flux of the
electric field through this surface is positive,
and so is the net charge within the surface,
as Gauss’ law requires.
Surface S2.The electric field is inward for all
points on this surface. Thus, the flux of the
electric field through this surface is negative
and so is the enclosed charge, as Gauss’ law
requires.
23-2 Gauss’ Law
Surface S3.This surface encloses no charge,
and thus qenc = 0. Gauss’ law requires that
the net flux of the electric field through this
surface be zero. That is reasonable because
all the field lines pass entirely through the
surface, entering it at the top and leaving at
the bottom.
Surface S4.This surface encloses no net
charge, because the enclosed positive and
negative charges have equal magnitudes.
Gauss’ law requires that the net flux of the
electric field through this surface be zero.
That is reasonable because there are as
many field lines leaving surface S4 as
entering it.
23-2 Gauss’ Law
Gauss’ law & Coulomb’s law
A spherical Gaussian surface centered
on a particle of charge q.
23-3 A Charged Isolated Conductor
Agreeable, considering that charges with
the same sign repel one another.
Proof
• The electric field inside a conductor must be zero.
• E = 0 (and therefore, Φ = 0) for the Gaussian surface.
• qenc = 0
*The same argument applies even when a cavity is
formed inside the conductor.
23-3 A Charged Isolated Conductor
Electric field just outside the conductor surface
(a) Perspective view and (b) side view of a tiny portion of a
large, isolated conductor with excess positive charge on its
surface. A (closed) cylindrical Gaussian surface, embedded
perpendicularly in the conductor, encloses some of the
charge. Electric field lines pierce the external end cap of the
cylinder, but not the internal end cap. The external end cap
has area A and area vector A.
23-3 A Charged Isolated Conductor
Spherical metal shell, electric field and enclosed charge
• E = 0 inside a conductor.
• Φ = 0 for the Gaussian
surface.
• qenc = 0
• Then the excessive
negative charge should
be uniformly distributed
on the outer surface.
(a) A negatively charged particle is located within a spherical metal shell that is
electrically neutral. (b) As a result, positive charge is nonuniformly distributed on
the inner wall of the shell, and an equal amount of negative charge is uniformly
distributed on the outer wall.
23-4 Applying Gauss’ Law: Cylindrical Symmetry
Figure shows a section of an infinitely long
cylindrical plastic rod with a uniform charge
density λ. The charge distribution and the field
have cylindrical symmetry. To find the field at
radius r, we enclose a section of the rod with a
concentric Gaussian cylinder of radius r and
height h.
The net flux through the cylinder from Gauss’
Law reduces to
yielding
A Gaussian surface in the form of
a closed cylinder surrounds a
section of a very long, uniformly
charged, cylindrical plastic rod.
23-5 Applying Gauss’ Law: Planar Symmetry
Non-conducting Sheet
Figures show a portion of a thin, infinite, non-
conducting sheet with a uniform (positive)
surface charge density σ. A sheet of thin
plastic wrap, uniformly charged on one side,
can serve as a simple model.
Gauss’ Law becomes,
where σA is the charge enclosed by the
Gaussian surface. This gives
23-5 Applying Gauss’ Law: Planar Symmetry
Two conducting Plates
Figure (a) shows a cross section of a thin, infinite conducting plate with
excess positive charge. Figure (b) shows an identical plate with excess
negative charge having the same magnitude of surface charge density σ1.
Suppose we arrange for the plates of Figs. a
and b to be close to each other and parallel (c).
Since the plates are conductors, when we bring
them into this arrangement, the excess charge
on one plate attracts the excess charge on the
other plate, and all the excess charge moves
onto the inner faces of the plates as in Fig. c.
With twice as much charge now on each inner
face, the electric field at any point between the
plates has the magnitude
23-5 Applying Gauss’ Law: Planar Symmetry
Electric field near two parallel nonconducting sheets
with charge
(a) Two large, parallel sheets, uniformly
charged on one side.
(b) The individual electric fields resulting
from the two charged sheets.
(c) The net field due to both charged
sheets, found by superposition.
23-6 Applying Gauss’ Law: Spherical Symmetry
In the figure, applying Gauss’ law to surface
S2, for which r ≥ R, we would find that
And, applying Gauss’ law to surface S1, for
which r < R,
23-6 Applying Gauss’ Law: Spherical Symmetry
Outside a sphere with a uniform volume charge
density,
Inside a sphere with a uniform volume charge
density, the field is radial and has the magnitude
where q is the total charge, R is the sphere’s
radius, and r is the radial distance from the center
of the sphere to the point of measurement as
shown in figure.
23-6 Applying Gauss’ Law: Spherical Symmetry
Spherical charge distribution
